Responsible tourism in Iran

The last of Iran’s nomads

Around the world, nomadic people are struggling to maintain lifestyles which stretch back centuries, as they clash with the concepts of land ownership and national borders. Nomads are frequently viewed as not contributing to society, being backward, and avoiding established systems such as taxation and formal education.

In Iran, the story is no different. Around 1.5 million nomadic people are believed to live there today, the majority being “semi-nomadic”; rather than constant movement, they spend their summers in the cooler mountains of the north, and the winters in the warmer climes close to Shiraz and the Gulf Coast. One of the largest nomadic groups is the Qashqai – a collective of different Turkic tribes who transport their tents and livestock hundreds of kilometres each year between their seasonal homes, as they have done for a thousand years. But against a backdrop of a rapidly developing Iran, they are losing grazing lands, access to water is becoming more difficult, and younger generations are lured to the cities. The government is also pursuing “assimilation” programmes in an effort to settle the tribes in permanent towns and villages, a move which would split close-knit families, see the loss of ancient traditions, and which threatens the very existence of this 400,000 strong community.

When is a protected area not a protected area?

Iran is vast; the UK could fit inside it almost seven times, yet the population of Iran is just 80 million, leaving plenty of space for wilderness areas. Within its borders are habitats for some of the world’s last surviving Asiatic cheetahs, as well as rare Persian leopards, lynx, bears, wolves, bezoar ibex and panthers. Iran is often thought of as a vast desert, but over 10 percent of its landscape is forested, and combined with the soaring, snow-capped peaks of the Zagros and Alborz Mountain ranges and Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf coastlines, the country is much more diverse than it is given credit for.

Yet despite its enormous size, endangered species and incredible biodiversity, Iran has just 11 national parks – for comparison, the UK has 15. More worryingly, national park status is no indication that the land will be protected, despite the Iranian Environmental Preservation Law declaring that construction within national parks is illegal. The otherworldly landscapes of Kavir National Park, whose desert and steppe is sometimes referred to as “Little Africa” thanks to the hyena, cheetah, wolf, leopard and gazelle that can be found there, are under threat from oil exploration. Digging wells, building access roads and subsequent pollution pose a huge danger to the environment, while military training in the area is already causing wildlife to flee.

The Ramsar site of Lake Urmia, meanwhile, was once the largest lake in the Middle East, with 102 islands. However, drought as well as redirecting the water for agricultural purposes means that just 5-10 percent of the original water volume remains, which in turn has increased salinity. Evaporating at a rate of up to a metre per year, Lake Urmia may be little more than a salt marsh very soon, which would affect the whole climate of the region. The government has plans to channel water back into the dying lake, but its future – and that of the surrounding ecosystems – hangs in the balance.

It’s fair to say that conservation of habitats and wildlife is not high on the Iranian list of priorities – with oil, mining and development being put first. Air pollution is at notoriously dangerous levels in Iran’s cities (not helped by the availability of cheap oil); a giant air quality gauge is one of the most prominent monuments in downtown Tehran, which frequently shuts down due to dangerous pollution levels.